hardcastle craggs-a stunning day

the best bird of the day by far!!
I was walking along by the riverside when suddenly a small brown bird emerged from the woods and landed on a branch quite near. I followed it as it moved and I soon identified it as a spotted flycatcher. I was really pleased but it got better, I managed to find second flycatcher in the wood adn then I spotted a nest in the fork of a tree. neither bird showed any interest in the nest but based on the description in my bird egg and nest book I think it might be. "untidy, sometimes in the fork of a tree, made of pretty muich anything including grass......"

the birds were pretty showy but quite camera shy. overall though, it wa great to find

we went to hardcastle craggs today, in the scorching sun, to try and get some dipper photos. when we got there it was really quiet with only three cars in the car park. At first we saw nothing and as we walked I began to wonder if the heat had meant that everything was hidding. As we approched the dipper spot however, a roe deer walked straight out in front of us and casually walked across the path and the river before going up the bank on the other side. It was really great to see.

but as we approached the dipper site It became clear that something had happened as there were no dippers. I had a look up and down the river and managed to find a dipper further downstream hidden by a tree. I crept up to him and managed to get really close. unfortunatly the light was really low so this photo has been photoshoped a lot.

the dipper seemed quite sad and depressed, and there was only one adult bird and the nest was empty!!! eventually I got a bit too close and he moved downstream slightly. I decided to try and take some photos from across the river. I went back to find a way across when my mum called me over to take a look at a bee which was digging in the sand. It was a really efficient animal and was doing a fine job of digging whatever he was digging.

when I got across the river the light was even worse, not even photoshop could save these. never-the-less the green backlight has created quite an effect on the bird so I have included them anyway-I would not include it because I managed to get my feet wet whichmade the rest of the journey quite uncomfortable.

it was about here that i found the spotted flycatchers but because I'm a forgetful klutz and because it is the most significant they are at the top of the post. eventually we got to the mill where my mum had a coffee and I had an exploration of the mill pond. After looking at some of darrells great dragonfly photos I decided that I should try to get some better dragonfly photos instead of just profile shots. Unfortunately, so far i had not seen any dragonflys. However at the mill pond I managed to find a large red damselfly. I tried to take some unusual shots but I'm not really sure if it worked

the just as we past the dipper spot for the last time I spotted a grey wagtail. this is another bird that I have yet to photograph so i was glad for the chance to take this photo. It was quite a bold bird and diddnt mind as I crept up close. I managed to get some shots before it flew away

as you can see, overall it was a great day